Did you know that in just 15 minutes you could expand your customer base exponentially? How, you might ask? With web-based technology like social media!

Networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, or blogging sites like Wordpress and Blogger, offer a way for small businesses and organizations to reach out to populations that are oftentimes untouched through standard marketing efforts. While "some farmers may be hesitant,...because they simply have no time for time-sucking diversions such as Facebook," says Janet Rausa Fuller in her article, Farmers sow seeds of social media, it is also pointed out that "it’s an afternoon of free advertising.” She later adds that the "supportive online community seems a natural fit for farmers, who are all about karma. Besides connecting with market groupies and chefs who want or need their foods, they’re using these social networking sites to post photos and details about the inner workings of their farms and promote others."

Connecting farmers with consumers and chefs, and vice-versa, is key in developing long-lasting relationships and loyalty. These connections can be create and managed through a wide variety of online resources. Because this online world can be intimidating and challenging, the Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG) Agriculture Collaborative, aims to help bridge the gaps in understanding for farmers and foodies who want to step in to the realm of digital media campaigning.

Thus, the September Ag Collaborative meeting topic, "Foodies on the Web - Growing Your Marketing Strategies with Internet-Based Media," focused specifically on how web-based relationship building can be facilitated. Kate Manchester, of Edible Santa Fe, and Lora Roberts, of the MRCOG Ag Collaborative, presented a wealth of information regarding how not only networking and blogging sites can become part of one's business portfolio, but how tools such as e-newsletters, photo and video sharing sites, podcasting, and basic web design, can all contribute to the viability of agriculture and food-related projects, businesses and organizations.

Meeting attendees were guided through the (often seemingly complex) world of social networking options, providing clarity on how and why Twitter and Facebook play such important roles in marketing today, how to create and maintain such accounts, and how they can be used in conjunction with one another. A Facebook page was developed for a meeting participant in order to demonstrate the ease of account setup and illustrate how to navigate the ins and outs of profile maintenance. Kate and Lora spent a good deal of time talking about social media applications such as HootSuite, that manage multiple accounts in one place. These types of online or desktop applications make it far easier and a lot less time consuming to interact in the social media realm because all of one's accounts are managed in one location, and posts can be shared across accounts so that you don't have to re-post in multiple places. There was additional discussion about where and how to develop a blog or basic website, the advantages of e-newsletters, and podcasting basics.

The MRCOG Ag Collaborative aims to encourage farmers and food-related organizations to expand their knowledge of these resources, and soothe anxiety about unknown technology, by providing this type of introduction. The MRCOG is not alone in these endeavors. As John Eagen points out in his article American Farmers Venture into New Field: Social Media, "more and more resources are popping up to steer farmers through this fertile yet relatively foreign terrain. The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, for instance, provides an online guide that teaches its members how to use social media. And in late August, the newly formed AgChat Foundation staged its first-ever conference geared toward social media training for farmers."

As the trend towards local food consumption and processing increases, more farms, organizations and related endeavors pop up trying to capitalize on the enthusiasm. The realm of food and agriculture marketing today is becoming increasingly competitive and often quite costly. When creating an online presence and engaging in (commonly free) social media activities, a business owner can increase the number of people who know their name and will potentially do business with them. The larger the online network, the larger the potential to grow a business or project.

Michele Payn-Knoper is a social media strategist and agriculture advocate who teaches agriculturally-focused social media workshops and stated that, "today’s Internet experience is about efficient community interaction and information exchange; agriculture loses when farmers don’t engage in that community. Arm yourself with a base knowledge of social media to leverage it as a tool for your farm with customers and influencers. After all, farmers offer the best voice for agriculture in social media.”

Please check out the MRCOG Ag Collaborative Resource Guide that was developed specifically for the Foodies on the Web meeting. CLICK HERE